Scenes from an Astorian apartment

Scene 1: Monday night. Meeting the new subletter for the first time. Toasty Subway sandwich crinkling in my bag. Visions of french fries in my head. I walk into a dark and what seems to be, empty apartment. I make my way to the living room, where my new "roommate" is creepily sitting on the couch, not saying anything so I think I am alone in the apartment...

Me: Oh! Hi! (nervous laugh) I thought no one was here! (Walk over and shake hands) It's so nice to meet you.

Her: Yea. (Awkward stare/smile/chuckle)

Me: (Nervous jabbering) So, how was your move yesterday?

Her: Uh. (shrug) Fine.

Me: Oh...good. It's so hot! (walk over to my little fan - place it on the coffee table) I usually put this on and face it right towards me...it definitely helps ...(awkward pause)... Do you have any questions or concerns about the apartment?

Her: (Stare) No.

Me: (Thinking: I am not sober enough for this. Sit down on couch.Glance over at her laptop.) Ooo! Are you watching True Blood? What season?

Her: Uh...this season...this current season.

Me: Oh...Cool...I just finished the 1st one. I loved it.

Her: (stare)

Me: Sorry if I'm not making much sense. I'm a little drunk. I just got back from book club (nervous laugh) It was my first one with my old roommate's friends and I hadn't eaten all day...so one big glass just went straight to my head.

Her: (uncomfortable pity laugh)

Me: Okay...well I'll leave you too it. I'm going to go make some french fries...

Laziness Revisited

These past couple of weeks have been insane. My roommate and I have been getting up at 6 a.m. to go to the gym and I've been super busy at work. I've also been doing some freelance transcribing on the side which ensures that I stay at my office well after 5p.m. Basically, I've been taking a huge bite out of real-life adulthood.

At the end of March, after a few days of incessant gorging, Roommate and I made a pact to start going to the gym at least three times a week. Obviously we want to be fit....but if you're like me, you need a goal to help kick-start your health habit. So - I am attending a wedding in May and I'm a bridesmaid in August - let's just say the little fat girl inside of me was like "Hey, fatty! Yeah, you. Don't look behind you to see if I'm talking to someone else. Listen: We Are On HIGH ALERT!" The healthy me thinks -- This is great. I will go to the gym at least 3x a week. This will make me fit and make me feel good. The traumatized fatty thinks -- You do not want to be the fat bridesmaid. Spanx will not help you. Get your ass in gear.

(Clearly I envision my friend K -the bride- placing a "me-as-your-bridesmaid" picture on her mantle where all her friends and family can see and scoff at it. In this scenario it is just me though...I don't know where she plans on putting her own wedding picture....but I know I'm going on the mantle.)

Anyway, I have been energetically exhausted and definitely have not had much time to read.

Why not just throw a book in my gym bag? You know, kill two birds with one sweaty stone? You don't know how many times I've tried.

Taking the book with my to the gym? Piece of fat-free, sugar-free cake. Reading it while at the gym....not so much.

In college, I used to try reading my homework at the gym; a failed attempt every time. I either read the article/book on the bike and didn't mustering up a bead of sweat OR I bounced about doing harder cardio and kept re-reading the same sentence/paragraph over and over. I've even tried reading magazines, but all the jostling of the elliptical or treadmill makes me nauseous and gives me a headache. I guess it makes sense, trying to mix my most guilty pleasure with my most dreaded pleasure. I could try working out to a book-on-tape -- but I envision myself staring off into the distance while on a machine, falling victim to the book's plot instead of running off the rogue chocolates I ate the night before.

Hopefully my work load will lighten up in time for the weekend and I can catch up on some much needed reading time and DVR unloading. And maybe even add in a gym visit at some point....

In like a lion, out like an.......elephant?

Because of recent events, I have decided that March will now be known as Elephant Month. My friends and I kicked off the month with our elephant-themed book club meeting, I created a pattern and sewed little elephants, and this past Monday my roommate and I braved the thunder, lightening and downpour and made our way over to 34th Street to watch the Ringling Brothers circus elephants make their way to Madison Square Garden from the Midtown tunnel.

The Elephant Walk: April 24th, 1920 (photo found on Shorpy.com )

Apparently, the elephants have been doing this for a long time. An article about it in New York's Daily News, sites this as being the 139th annual Animal Walk. But, it seems to be a pretty well kept secret in NYC. In a city where most things are inundated by tourists or overzealous thrill seekers, the crowd that gathered for this surreal moment in Midtown was pretty calm. Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony it was not.

As most New Yorkers know, going out when it is raining sucks, so once you're home after a long day and sometimes, a long commute, there is no way that you are getting us out of our cozy apartments. Worse, if you're crossing the Burroughs borders. But when my roommate called me into the living room to tell me that the "Elephant walk" was that night, I didn't even hesitate. Visions of elephants picking me up and cradling me with their trunks flashed in my brain. I was sold. I could not miss a chance to see these pachyderms in action.

 Walking trunk-to-tail...how freaking cute!?!

I had heard about this a few weeks back, talked about finding out when it was and planned to go see it. But, as you all know, my follow-through is something that comes in waves. So, it was certainly exciting to actually fulfill this want.

The anticipation was electric and the waiting was unbearable, but once we heard that the elephants were close, I could not contain my excitement. We could see them from afar, swaggering in slow motion until they reached us. That's when we realized how fast these creatures were actually walking. We were basically bum rushed by a stampede of eager elephants lovers trying to catch up with the majestic creatures.

 Photograph taken by my roommate. Yes, that is the subway right next to Penn Station :)

At that point my roommate and I shrugged at each other, threw caution to the wind and joined in. It was definitely one of those moments where I really got to appreciate the city that I live in and see something extraordinary.

Question is, if they walk the elephants in....do they have to walk them out again? Hmmmm........